Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.

hello
I am in Toronto, Canada, and am reading these postings with interest. I have a similar problem; I just moved
into a house with two other units - a woman in each of the three, and I understood from the landlord
that we shared the use of the backyard space, including patio and backyard. The lease was not really a "lease". I now discover that my landlord and/or his son and family is over in the back and front yard constantly, and that in fact for the past four years have maintained a garden and 25 tomato plants in the yard. From what I have seen of "visits" from the son, etc. it is a spy mission, in fact,
visits consisting often of five minutes, pretending to pull weeds, etc.

I have not spoke to the landlord yet, because I am not sure of the rules, but it sure feels like an
invasion of space to me. The landlord also has two sheds for HIS use there. I understand that
it is nice for landlords to maintain property, but I think the solution is to have a set time and date
when they come. I also discovered that landlord and his wife take deckchairs to our (the tenants'
patio) and sit from 5-9 evenings and weekends. This has not happened since I've been here, but
I am watching.

read the lease and if it isnt clear, consult the local township. You may want to suggest a mulching lawn mower. I have 3/4 of an acre and changing the blades on my lawn mowere with is a rider. has saved me lots of time and energy. Not to mention mulching is much better for the enviroment.

p.s. I just called the Landlord tenant people/ and they say that landlord having a garden, sitting
on lawn chairs in our space, is what is called a privacy issue - interfering with reasonable enjoyment
of the space. That's in Canada, eh? For now, I will approach with kindness and tact, not legalities.

p.s. I just called the Landlord tenant people/ and they say that landlord having a garden, sitting
on lawn chairs in our space, is what is called a privacy issue - interfering with reasonable enjoyment
of the space. That's in Canada, eh? For now, I will approach with kindness and tact, not legalities.

patrice

There is a difference between renting a single family home and renting at a property with multiple units.

Did the Landlord construct the sheds after you moved in or were they there prior?

Everything always goes back the Rental Agreement...

I also keep a shed at one of my Duplexes... it is clearly noted in the Rental Agreement as is that from time to time I may need to access it at anytime... I keep spare Water Heaters, faucets and such... so it something were to break after hours... I don't have to wait for the supply house to open... AND I have my own separate Electric Service to the Shed... so I'm not using electricity paid for by my tenants...

I would find it very hard, as an owner to abide by a strict schedule for access to my storage unit... in fact... I would not rent to a person unwilling to accept this... that is why everything is detailed in the Rental Agreement...

See how it goes...

PS... I try to never be on site at any of my properties on Sunday... ever. I like to have some time reserved for my family too

In Texas you couldn't even go on the property if the leasee objects. It is you who the police would tell to leave iof called.if you don't your trespassing.You basically do not control the property if you lease it out. You have certain contract rights under law and that is it. Inspection must be with advanced notice ;reasonable which includes convenience of the leasee.You can't enter a apartment without this notice without a emergency. It all comes back to the leasees right of privaticy really.Anything that is state law can not be overruled by a lease agreement. You can put anyhting you like into teh agreement and a court will rules against anything that violtes state law.

In Texas you couldn't even go on the property if the leasee objects. It is you who the police would tell to leave iof called.if you don't your trespassing.You basically do not control the property if you lease it out. You have certain contract rights under law and that is it. Inspection must be with advanced notice ;reasonable which includes convenience of the leasee.You can't enter a apartment without this notice without a emergency. It all comes back to the leasees right of privaticy really.Anything that is state law can not be overruled by a lease agreement. You can put anyhting you like into teh agreement and a court will rules against anything that violtes state law.

How would the following scenarios work under Texas Law?

I have a property with 3 units... 2 residential and 1 commercial... all are serviced by a common driveway. All three units are separately metered for utilities.

I rent the residential units and now keep the commercial unit as storage for my Rental business. Both Residential leases note that I as the owner need 24 hour access to my commercial unit... really nothing more than a large garage with a toilet and a sink... In Texas, would me tenants have a right to object to my being on the property as needed?

Second scenario... I own a multi-unit building several blocks away... and after having nothing but trouble with landscape services... I decided to take care of it myself... gives me some face time at the property. Every one's lease state the owner is responsible to maintain common area landscaping... Same question... can my tenants object to me being on site as I deem necessary to maintain the landscaping?

Lastly... I bought a old single family home on a large multi unit zoned multi-family adjacent to my multi unit property... even though I'm not on this property, I often will come and go next door and therefore am around quite a bit at times... I have had the boyfriend of my tenant complain that everytime he looked out his window he would see my truck next door and he didn't like it... even though I was never on that property... Boyfriend had some issues after he lost his job and started hanging around all day till my tenant broke it off.

Are you in Texas? Regardless of what state in which you live and conduct business, you as the owner are responsible to know the law as it applies to you.

Common areas on properties with mutiple rentals is different than the backyard of a single family home where the tenant has the express right to enjoy the property as a whole. So quite a bit of your situatin is not the same as if it were just a one family home, even one tht someone turned into a 2-family home for rental purposes.

Gardening on a routine basis is not invasion of privacy. The tenant should be made aware that gardening maintenance is done, say just for the sake of argument, every other Friday. That way at least they know that the gardener, or owner, is likely to show up on that regular basis.

"Boyfriend of tenant" is not a protected class last time I checked. Tell him to get over himself and grow up! He has no real rights at all as I see it! He's not the tenant, just a visitor. And, if these visit appear to you to be more like she's let him move in, then talk to your tenant about your subletting or unauthorized adding of roommates policy.

I was a little taken back at texdave's reply... "In Texas you couldn't even go on the property if the leasee objects"

I've never owned or rented in Texas... the majority of my rentals are in the SF Bay Area.

In CA... all that is required is the tenant receive proper notice as outlined by statute for visits during normal "business hours"... irregardless of whether the lessee objects or not... it's not material in the least.

Most of my Rentals are in Oakland CA and the City has a very strict Code Compliance that applies even to unregistered vehicles in the driveway. The onus is put on owners to know what's going on at the property they own and owners have been held responsible for not knowing what goes on... the worst defense is "I always received the rent on time and no one every complained"

Oakland also has a mandatory garbage ordinance and the law is written so that only the owner of record can be billed... The legal owner, as listed on deed, is responsible for EVERYTHING placed for collection... I've run afoul several times when paint or liquids or fluorescent bulbs were placed for collection... the problem is proving how they got there...

Since the Original Poster rents a home on the same street the Landlord lives on... they are actually neighbors... so right there I would expect the Landlord to be in the neighborhood... can't be avoided.

hello
I am in Toronto, Canada, and am reading these postings with interest. I have a similar problem; I just moved
into a house with two other units - a woman in each of the three, and I understood from the landlord
that we shared the use of the backyard space, including patio and backyard. The lease was not really a "lease". I now discover that my landlord and/or his son and family is over in the back and front yard constantly, and that in fact for the past four years have maintained a garden and 25 tomato plants in the yard. From what I have seen of "visits" from the son, etc. it is a spy mission, in fact,
visits consisting often of five minutes, pretending to pull weeds, etc.

I have not spoke to the landlord yet, because I am not sure of the rules, but it sure feels like an
invasion of space to me. The landlord also has two sheds for HIS use there. I understand that
it is nice for landlords to maintain property, but I think the solution is to have a set time and date
when they come. I also discovered that landlord and his wife take deckchairs to our (the tenants'
patio) and sit from 5-9 evenings and weekends. This has not happened since I've been here, but
I am watching.

I posted an earlier response and it was read directly from the lanlord / tenant laws. I live in Oregon so it was in reference to Oregon law. I wasn't just giving my personal opinion. So to the person who said people should read the landlord /tenant laws: I did!. Each state is different but all of them protect tenents and this is a privacy issue. A lanlord here can be arrested for entering the yard or out buildings or home once they rent it out unless it is with tenants permission, an emergency, the tenant has left and vacated property, or has made a request for something to be fixed. Yes it would be nice to just be able to talk and work it out between you but some landlords don't listen or they become revengeful if you say anything such as please do not enter my yard anymore so it is nice to know you have the law behind you if it should turn into a big deal.

Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.